Blank Love

Chapter 11

  I was extremely anxious. A lot of important things were about to happen at the same time this weekend, and I wasn’t sure how to be prepared for everything.

  Avi's parents would visit us on Sunday, and it left me completely stunned: I didn’t know what was my relationship with my in-laws before the accident. The way his mother treated me on the phone led me to believe that there wasn't any tension between us. She was extremely caring and appeared to carry concern. Avi also tried to calm me down, and wasn’t making a big deal of the situation, but well, that hasn’t changed much.

  Later that Sunday, Pentatonix decided to make a small gathering among friends, nothing too fancy, but very simple. That I was very happy about, since the band was extremely comfortable to be around, and I even missed talking to them since the beach trip. I was sure that it would be great.

   But what really made me nervous about that weekend, would come before all of this. A night that was going through my head since I received the invitation. An opportunity to make everything work, or mess up for once, something that was already uncertain.

  My date with my husband. 

  We waited until Avi got rid of his flu to take the initiative - which actually didn’t come from me: he booked a table at some upscale restaurant, with the excuse that he wanted it to be like on a first date where the man tries in every way, to impress the girl. I didn’t know what he was talking about. The only thing I knew, is that I was really, really nervous.

 To worsen all my nervousness, the headaches were becoming stronger and more constant . I struggled the whole time not to show my apathy, which sometimes worked, but when it was impossible to do so, I chose to isolate myself. I didn’t want to worry Avi more than I have done in recent months. He had been such a sweet person, and I was honestly getting more involved in this relationship, but sometimes I saw signs that he was leaving himself last on the list of personal priorities. The proof of this was the sudden flu, from which he - after a brief resistance - let me help treat it. I was sure that I was being very stressful to live with on that state.

  It was Saturday night, and I was a nervous wreck. Avi had begun to dress up early, so I took his place in the room soon after, desperate to try to look decent on a big night like this.

  After scouring the entire closet more than three times, I decided to wear a modest and delicate black dress, tight just to the waist where I marked with a simple lace, and flowing from then; I combined it with gold heels and got my hair gathered in a stripped bun, leaving, besides some tangled strands, my loose side swept bangs.

   I had already finalized the makeup when I found a flawless bracelet: it was braided with some thick gold wire and interspersed a third strand of small greenish stones, extremely subtle and with an enchanting glow. I put it on my wrist, and was putting on a pair of small earrings when I heard the doorbell ring, which was very strange since we weren’t expecting anyone.

- Avi, can you get that? - I shouted from the room, checking myself in the mirror while pinning the earring and got worried when the seconds stretched and I received no reply.

  I walked hesitantly to the door, opening it a bit and viewing the empty room, tilting my head from side to side as I searched for him.

- Avi? - I asked a couple of times uncertainly, looking in every room of the house while the bell was played again. I admit that the sharp sound gave me twinges in the head.

  Frowning, I gave up looking for him and went to the door, trying to see through the peephole who was there, but there was nobody in my view. Despite the uncertainty, I straightened the dress on my body, slowly turned the key and then the handle, keeping my head down until the door was wide open, and then raised my dumbfounded look at the man in front of me.